Garment construction



May 2, 1950 'w. L. ROESSNER GARMENT CONSTRUCTION Original Filed Aug. 18,1948 Ill \ llllllmm I Reissued May 2, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEGARMENT CONSTRUCTION William L. Roessner, Denver, Colo.

. Matter enclosed in heavy brackets 1 appears in the original patent butforms no part of this reissue specification; matter printed in italicsindicates the additions made by reissue 1 Claim.

This invention relates to garment constructions designed to be worn byplayers of ball games, such as baseball, soft ball, and the like. It isadapted to aid the umpire in making correct decisions as to whether theplay consti;

portion of the home base, before touching the ground, not lower than thebatsmans knees nor higher than his shoulder. For every such fairlydelivered ball the umpire shalloall one strike.

Conventional baseball pants are made of ma-- terial which is of uniformcolor or appearance throughout, and usually the color is light. Suchpants comprise a body portion which extends downwardly from thewaistline of the wearer and merges into leg portions which extend wellbelow the knees so as to provide ample material to permit the lowerextremities of the leg portions to be doubled by turning them inwardlyand upwardly. The free lower edges are hemmed and stitched to provide acircumferential pocket adapted to receive an elastic ring, to providefor contraction and expansion of the lower extremities of the legportions. These lower contracted portions of the pants are designed toengage the stockings and legs of the wearer slightly below the knee, andthe leg portions are intended to be long enough to provide a doubledportion surrounding each leg in the region just below the knee.

Some players adjust the lower extremities of the pants legs in suchmanner that the visible portion of the pants legs extends only a fewinches below the center of the knee cap. Others arrange the elastic endportions well down on the calf of the leg, leaving little extra materialto be doubled and exposing almost the full length of the pants legsbelow the wearers knees.

It is difficult for the umpire to decide whether a played ball haspassed below or above the batsmans knees. When the players uniform isworn so that the pants legs extend a substantial distance below hisknees the umpire cannot judge accurately the location of the knees andmay call a strike when in fact the ball may have passed lower than thebatsmans knees.

The misjudgment of balls is made more probable, also, by the fact thatballs and most uniforms are light in color and fail to present anycontrasting appearance in the play.

The object of my invention is to provide a garment construction for ballgame players" which will indicate the location of the wearers knees andaid the umpire in making correct decisions.

Another object is to provide means in a garment of the characterdescribed which will present a contrast to the ball and aid the umpirein determining that a ball which passes the contrasting area is not afairly delivered ball and therefore does not constitute a strike.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a front elevational view of a garment embodying my invention,as it appears when worn by a ball game player, and indicating also partof the body of the wearer.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational View of the garment as it appears when notbeing worn, and the leg portions thereof are fully extended and exposedto view.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a baseball player in batting positionandwearing the uniform of Fig. 1, this figure showing the vertical range ofball delivery to constitute a strike.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention shown in the drawing, thegarment takes the form of pants comprising a body portion l 0 whichextends downwardly from the waistline II and merges into leg portions I2made of uniformly colored plain material or uniformly patternedmaterial, preferably of a light color. Each leg portion l2 terminates inan edge I3 which extends around the wearers knee in a horizontal planecoinciding with a portion of [the center of] the knee cap indicated at[4. Attached to the edge 13 of each leg portion l2, by stitching orother suitable means, is a lower leg member 15 made of material whichpresents a contrasting appearance to the leg portion l2. Preferably themembers I 5 are made of dark material, or material of a color or kindwhich contrasts with the color of the ball used in the game. The freelower edges of the members 15 are overlapped and stitched as indicatedat IE to provide a circumferential pocket I! enclosing the elastic ringwhich contrasts the lower extremity of the leg.

The pocketed portion l1 and the material just above it is turnedinwardly and upwardly when the garment is being worn, so that thecontracted portion engages the leg of the wearer below the knee, and tothe observer the folded edge IB constitutes the lower edge of the pantslegs, as shown in Fig. 1.

When properly fitted and worn, the lighter appearing portions of thegarment will cover the player's body from or near the waistlinedownwardly to the horizontal center line of the knees.

The contrasting portions will cover the players legs from said knee lineto a point below the knees. Said contrasting material preferably is darkor of a color of kind which contrasts with the ball being played.

The improved garment is shown as being worn by a ball player P inbatting position, in Fig. 3. As is shown, the vertical range of balldelivery to the batter at the plate to constitute a strike in accordancewith existing rules is limited by [the center of] the players knee andhis shoulder as is indicated at R.

While a batters knees are: usualiyin adja'cency' when in battingposition and awaiting the: do livery of a ball, they may be i'n variablyspaced relation as best suits the player in his particular" technique inhitting the ball. In any event, the lower range line I? will be clearlyvisible to the umpire and will materially aid him in his decision as towhether the pitched ball is a strike or a ball.

Obviously the invention need not be confined to garments known as pantsand may be embodied in garments" which extend above the waistline of theplayer. The essential feature of the invention is the means which serveto indicate to the umpire the actual location of the players knees whileconcealed by the garment.

It will be understood, or course, that the official ball game rules maybe changed from time to time, and that a rair" line other than the onenow indicated by the b'at'srnan's knees may be established, In suchevent, the line of division between the contrasting portions of thegarment, indicated by the seam or edge- [3 in this embodiot theinvention, would be raised or lowered to conform to the" rules.suchobvious changes come within the scope of my invention.

Changes" may be made details of construc- 0 tion of the garment, and inthe character and colors of the materials employed, without departingfrom the scope of my invention except as set forth in the appendedclaim.

I claim:

A garment construction to be worn by baseball players and adapted to aidthe umpire in making correct decisions as to whether a ball beingdelivered to a batter constitutes a ball or a strike, comprising a bodycovering portion having upper leg members which define a crotchtherebetween and extend downwardly from the crotch to horizontal lineswhich coincide approximat'ely with a portion of [the center of] the kneecapsof the wearer and constitute the lower limit of the st'rike zone,and lower leg portions connected to the upper leg members covering thewearer's legs below said horizontal lines and extending downwardly tobelow the wearer's knees, said lower leg portions below said horizontallines presenting a contrasting appearance to the upper leg members abovesaid lines, said lower contrast ing leg portions being variable in.exposed length by adjustment of the bottom edges of said leg portionson. the legs of the wearer, said contrastin'g leg portions above andbelow said horizontal lines providing a clear line of demarcation [atthe center lines of the wearers knees] at said lower limit 0! the strikezone irrespective of the adjustment of said bottom edge leg portions.

WILLIAM L. ROESSNER REFERENCES CITED The following references are ofrecord in the file of this patent or the original patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date D. 67,346 MacKin'non May 19, 19252,382,495 Malatesta Aug. 14, 1945

